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F10 / F11 (2011 - 2016) The sixth generation of the BMW 5 Series Sedan (F10) was produced from 2011 - 2016 with LCI updates arriving in 2014. In the US BMW offered a hatchback 5 Series Gran Truismo (F07) and the rest of the world also go a Station Wagon/Touring version F11.

What MB did on the new 2014 S Class looks similar to that they did with the E except they didn't call it a face lift. I have to see it in person to make a final judgement but the exterior doesn't look that much better in the photos. I actually prefer the current S. As for the interior, it is butt ugly. Those round vents look hideous along with that 2 spoke steering wheel that came out of the 70s. The digital speedometer doesn't look like it belongs in a $100K car. The speedometer on the current S with the center main cluster looks much more stylish. Again, based on these photos, MB messed up another model for 2014. I had high hopes MB will do a great job with the new S paving the way for future models, but......

I actually quite like it for what it is. An what it is is not something I will ever be interrested in other than as a passenger. When I'm in Europe I always ask if the limo service has S-Klasse, they are nice taxis.
I think it looks very stately inside and out. The interior seems more Rolls than tradiitonal Benz which is not a bad thing in this class. HUGE screen. Exterior wise they should have made the C-pillar thin instead of fat, it would have made it a lot more elegant. The fat one has a bit of Lincoln Town car to it.

I actually think they hit the mark on the S class, at least on the exterior. My only complaint is the dash and overall interior appears slightly Americana for a benz, but still very beautiful. The steering wheel is unusual in a sophisticated way and I like it.

Front and Front 3/4 view look classy. Rear and rear 3/4 look terrible to me. Interior over fussy but not bad. The circular vents are overdone (a little like the Jaguar XJ). A substantial improvement IMHO over the current model where the wheel arch creases completely ruin the look of the car.

Exterior is nice. Especially the rear lights are a huge upgrade from the previous version.

I don't like the square PC monitor-like screens on the dash. I am sitting 10-12 hours a day in front of the computer for work and then I have to go out and keep looking at monitors while driving my car? No, thanks.

I also hate the steering wheel since the first day I have seen it during the design phase and I still feel the same way.

The new adaptive suspension is a great feature and I would love to see BMW coming up with something similar.

-The big, round, almost characterless grille ("HUGE" isn't a character), would have liked the sharper pointed style like the W221 facelift and W212 pre-facelift.

-The HEADLIGHTS. HIDEOUS. M-B can't design elegant and sleek headlights to save their lives, it seems. I see the front of this car looking as dated as the E65 7-Series in the future. Too blocky, clunky an mashed together, lots of visible seamlines around the grille/headlights, etc.

-Two Spoke Steering Wheel: Incredibly "geriatric" themed, looks like it belongs in a bus or something. I love classic, but this isn't even classic.... reminds me of old Lincoln's, and it will be horrible for functionality as sometimes you need that lower bar for not only quick-reflext steering, but quick-reflex safety.

-The rest of the interior looks very confusing..., overly fussy ("fussy" seems to be M-B's design strategy) in the sense that I can't tell if I love it or hate it. Lots going on, lots of clashing elements, shapes and lines, lots of old-world mixed with this awkward array of trying-new-world, HOWEVER, at the same time it's very interesting (which will wear off as the car ages, making the interior maybe simply ugly and/or "messy") and certainly luxurious. Time will tell for me on this one. I can't help but find it tacky and almost lacking in sophistication in some ways. I do not like the giant "twin block screens" as they not only clash with the old-world theme of the rest of the interior, but just look distracting and overdone, like something out of the "futuristic-phase" of the 80's.

-LONG OVERHANGS WITH TOO SHORT WHEELBASE PROPORTIONS. Some of the pictures show the wheels pushed too far close to each other, therefore the frontal overhang is very large. M-B tried to disguise this by caving the corners in a ton, but you can clearly see the overhang itself is IMO exceedingly large.

-REAR: Very plain, and I don't like how the taillights are separated by a thin strip of metal from the edge of the trunk lid. The rear looks a little "geriatric" and I feel M-B has been having trouble with rears for some time.

-Side dropping line: My worst favorite part of the design. It is forced, clashes with the wedge profile of the car and greenhouse, and just ends.... nowhere, no connection to anything. Cohesion is a big issue with M-B design these days, and the dropping line being artificially forced onto a core architecture which rejects it, shows that, IMO.

-Overall the exterior looks a little dull, which is fine if the car was effortlessly going for understadness.... however I feel it's trying a little bit hard in quite a few ways as well.

-LIKES:

-It looks regal and elegant overall.

-The proportions are very nice overall, if you take out of account the clashing side lines.

-The interior screams "luxury car", even if tacky to a more "sophisticated palate", at least in the Optioning they show it with (I assume the standard will be much less "eventful").

-The greenhouse is very nice, a great evolution of the W221 as it seems almost identical, but just a little bit smoother, tighter, more sleekened.

-The Sport Package is nicer than the horribly overtried version on the faux-"new" E-Class.

-I love that they didn't put the overused corporate "Star Grille" and ruin the dignity of the S like IMO they did the E.

-And the technology and drive I'm sure will be incredible in the luxurious way intended (they better be!).

All in all, if my F10 lease is up and I had to go back to an M-B, this would by far be the only one in consideration. I'm sure it'll be an amazing car all in all, it better be.... M-B's future cachet is practically solely riding on it after a mess of an SL, IMO bigger mess of a CLS (which isn't as historically important a model as the SL), and FWD CLA/A-Class cars looking like they're going after the modern day "rice rocket" crowds.

Exterior is an evolutionary update. It is nice enough, although that front grille seems overly garish and large. Looks like a Hyundai. Inside, it all looks nice and certainly shows an upgrade in luxury over the current model. With the death of Maybach this makes sense. The two spoke steering wheel is hideous though.

I think the best exterior design M-B has done (aside from SLS or something like that) in about a decade is the W204 C Class. It's the only truly cohesive, effortless design I've seen from that and the only one that I think will be generally timeless. After that they just got very fussy. Before that, the R230 SL and W211 E Class IMO were their best works, and have proven so by being extremely timeless to this day. They were simple, clean, effortless, stylish yet not "trendy", upholding M-B's culture in those regards.

I think this S is a definite improvement over what we've seen from them lately, but there is still more discordance and now typical to M-B overwrought/heavy-handed/garish/haphazard/forcefully trendiness going on.

Keeping in mind that as an S Class I personally judge it extremely critically. The W221 had some goofy elements to it but overall I think it has really stood the test of time thus far (doesn't say much as it still is technically in production) and surprisingly, I don't feel the wheel arches or even "Bangle Butt" iteration have dated or become as crude as I assumed they would (jury is still out on the long term).

The W222 is promising in its regality and theme of soothing luxury, however fussy/forceful elements just don't "do it" for me and take a lot of that away at the same time, so far at least.

What happened to the nine-speed transmission MB was putting in the new S-classe?

Unfortunately it seems not ready for the S (?). IMO it's a must at this point, as the 7G is just desperate to be changed out with their newest drivetrains.

I heard it should be ready to be launched with the W205 C Class. Oddly enough, this is the first S-Class that has not delivered an all new design language for the brand (which is another thing that bugs me, usually you see all new design and here we have CLS/CLA like lines and a front that has headlights and bumpers reminiscent of the A-Class... moving from the bottom, up?). Per Daimler themselves some time back, the S (loosely quoted) "will follow the design language of the current lineup however while introducing an all-new interior while the C Class will introduce the next generation design language". Seems the C will likely also introduce more than a new design direction if it is indeed the one that launches the "9G".

I'm guessing once seen in person, this car will be stunning, including the interior and clown face steering wheel . MB of late haven't been very photogenic.
Even the E class doesn't look nearly as bad in person vs the pics, but is still a significant downgrade from the pre-facelift. I think this new S class was done very well and will most certainly be a significant upgrade.

P.S. Its kind of unfair to compare styling to a Hyundai when its more than obvious they copy (aka steal) their designs from the German auto makers.

Yup. Apparently it's a warmed over W221 chassis. Can't believe that. The wheelbase is IDENTICAL with the 222 having extra length only in the overhangs (I.e artificially as true length is acquired by pushing the wheelbase out further therefore giving extra space, nicer proportions and a better ride, look no further than the F10 with its excellent wheelbase-to-length ratio). I knew I thought the overhangs looked overly large and disguisedly curved inwards.

To each their own. I think it's stunning, timeless and gorgeously detailed

For all I know I might fall head over heels for it when I see it and never look back. However, considering how much trust I've lost in M-B's design team it's tough for me personally to really agree with their designs these days until I can really digest and understand whether there is any method to the madness.

I will say this is the first M-B that has come out in a looooong time that I do actually like (I do really like it overall, despite my criticisms), and by far the only one that I can think would bring me back to the brand. It's just too bad they don't offer at least a SWB in the States. I'd very strongly look into an S that was around 200" max in overall length.

The W221 SWB looks horrible out of proportion, however the spy pics of the W222 SWB looked actually quite nice and balanced via the spy pics. Though, I guess with an S, it's all about that looooong profile where the rear window can gracefully and elegantly sweep backwards, which is employed best on the LWB.